Providence: The Story of a Fifty-Year Vision Quest

_Providence_ takes _Ishmael_ to a whole new level by explaining what you can do with yourself after _Ishmael_. Quinn explains that the reason for this work is to fill the void that _Ishmael_ leaves: if it shattered your beliefs (in a good way, of course), _Providence_ gives you something to take its place.After reading Quinn's first four books, this was welcome, because for me, it fills the void that _Beyond Civilization_ tries to work into, but somehow fails. Many people complain that Quinn never tells you what to do wth these new ideas in his books, and here, he gives the reader ways that he has made them work. I found it very easy to take them and mesh them with my own interests. To find out Quinn's entire argument for saving ourselves and our planet, it's really necessary to read his five major books - if you read this one last, it brings the whole argument together nicely. He just doesn't give you an easy way out. You have to find it for yourself.

I actually read this book last in the Quinn series. Most people read them in order, starting with Ishmael, then Providence, The Story of B, My Ishmael, Beyond Civilization etc... I skipped Providence because I didn't have the kinds of questions Quinn wrote providence to answer. However, after reading his lastest novel "The Holy" I did have questions. I felt I wanted to know more about the man and his vison and I got this and much more from "Providence". This isn't fiction and Quinn pulls no punches here. An Incredibly moving testament to the animist worldview.

Being a Quinn fan, it should come as no surprise that I snapped up this book immediately. It should also come as no surprise that I loved it. Quinn's description of the world on fire brought tears to my eyes...he had had the experience I suspected I too could have. His journey is his own, and I will have my own, my reading about his journey once again reminds me of the joy of being alive, of discovering who you really are.

I know MY eyes were opened real wide by Ishmael, and I found this "story of how Ishmael came to be written" very illuminating. When you realize that Ishmael is the result of fifty years of vision-questing, and not just a quick novel Quinn typed up in response to Ted Turner's offer, it brings about even more respect for the great work Ishmael actually is. I highly recommend this to all fans of Ishmael.

For those of you who were also stunned and fascinated by Daniel Quinn's Ishmael, this book is required reading. It tells the marvelous story of how Quinn came to be the man who could write Ishmael. Part mystery, part comedy, Providence keeps you wondering how the story of Quinn's life will end (not completely, of course, just up to the writing of Ishmael). Written in an easy conversational style, Providence is the essential sequel to Ishmael, because it provides an extension and context for the ideas introduced in Ishmael. Read Ishmael first, and then you will read this book over and over again